A leading Birmingham criminologist was bombarded with vicious hate mail and violent threats just days after publishing his research into online Islamophobia. One internet troll even accused Imran Awan, of Birmingham City University, of being worse than members of the barbaric jihadist group Islamic State.
Mr Awan said he was shocked by the sheer number of “vitriolic hate-filled” messages he received after an online discussion about his detailed research on anti-Muslim abuse on the internet. He revealed how he received anonymous threats and how one far-right website had even put him “under official investigation” – labelling him a “troublemaker”.
Mr Awan said: “My research attempted to show how hate groups on the internet, especially Twitter, were using this space to intimidate, cause fear and make direct threats against Muslim communities. That has particularly been the case since the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich last year.
“So it’s quite ironic that I became a victim of this type of abuse after I discussed my findings on a popular internet forum earlier this month.”
Police have launched a probe into a a potential hate crime after an outspoken evangelical pastor defended describing the Islamic faith as “satanic” and a “doctrine spawned in hell”.
Danny Lockwood, an editor and publisher, has courted controversy by writing a book with a provocative title, The Islamic Republic of Dewsbury.